Living the Risen Life, Honoring Others

Frankly, celebrity is getting out of hand in the United States.  Far too many people want attention to the point where they will do shameful, stupid, immoral, or evil things to get it.  Look at the nightly news, what do we see?  Sex, lies, and videotapes.  Killers of boyfriends, girlfriends, children, strangers, family, and policemen.  It’s appalling.

Fifteen minutes of fame seems to be all that matters–never mind that it’s fifteen minutes now, resulting in lifetime status in The Hall of Shame for all the time that follows.  It’s like Hotel California where shame is only programmed to receive.  You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

You know those plastic collars, “the cone of shame”, that dogs sometimes wear when they come out of the vet’s office?  I sometimes think that the American people would have an easier time identifying who has acted shamefully if God were to apply a cone of shame to each person who has sought celebrity status, or political self-aggrandizement instead of honoring others. But then, the covers of People Magazine and tabloids wouldn’t look nearly so appealing to cult worshipers of celebrity.

God tells us that as Christians, we Live the Risen Life… by Honoring Others.  We don’t seek our own self-promotion, but we look to help other people.  This is so foreign to American life that it’s hard to imagine what a different world we’d live in if everyone put aside their striving to be Number One and looked to the interests of all others…not just to special interest groups who serve to make sure our celebrity continues.

I wish people could see politics as I do and perceive that politicians might talk about helping others, but really, they’re just using other people’s needs to promote themselves. The person who is supposed to be the public servant has instead become a public figure, a celebrity, and those with real needs and real pain have become the servants.

It is the Church that is supposed to serve the needs of others for no reason other than our witness to God’s love.  That is what today’s passage says.  True humility sacrifices oneself for the benefit of others.  It’s what we do because of what Jesus did for us.  Living the Risen Life means Honoring Others.